Would You Be Willing to do This?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

I work for one of the "Big Two" dialysis companies as an acute inpatient dialysis nurse. For those of you not familiar with this, my job is to provide dialysis treatments to patients who are acutely ill and hospitalized.

The problem I am having, is that I and the other nurses that I work with are expected to work extremely long hours on a regular basis. A few days ago I worked 17 hours straight doing back to back dialysis treatments, and then I was still on call for the remaining seven hours of that 24 hr. period, meaning that if the hospital had an emergency treatment and I got called, I could have conceivably worked almost 24 hours straight. It's scary, because by the end of that 17 hours, I was so tired that I was blurry-eyed and fuzzy-headed. This is not the exception, because I have not had anything less than a 14 hour day in weeks.

Needless to say, our acutes department has a real problem hiring and keeping nurses, and I hate this job because of the ridiculous hours. The only reason I am still there is because I have only been with the company for about 15 months and I hate to be a job hopper, because I was only at my previous job for about that same length of time and I'm afraid that no one will hire me if I quit another job after 15 months. However, I really do not feel like this is safe, and definitely not in the best interest of the patients.

My question is, would you be willing to work hours like this? Everyone I talk to thinks it's ridiculous, but if I or any of my co-workers complain to management, we are made to feel like we are being crybabies and whiners. I have applied for a few jobs, but I just don't know if I will look like too much of a job hopper to a potential employer. At this point, I am really getting concerned about my license, but I have to work and carry benefits for my family.

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No, I would not be willing to do it.

Dialysis has surely changed a lot in the past few years- for the worse.

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No. I know you don't want to be a job-hopper, but you do have to be safe and have a life, and I can't imagine it's good for your health, either. Just tell the people at the next job interview that you don't want to work 17 hour shifts like you are now.

You can also just tell your current manager that for health reasons you cannot work more than 12 hours, and you will stand firm on that. And if they have a problem you will be forced to resign. It's not your fault they are having a staffing problem.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

Thank you both for taking the time to reply so quickly. I agree with both of you, and I really do think that I have to get out of there before something happens, either to a patient or to me. Last night after I left work, I was so tired that I almost didn't see a truck when I was merging onto the expressway. It scared me to death, because I am normally a very alert driver and have not had an accident in several years. I just can't keep doing this. I just wanted to know if other nurses agree that this is ridiculous, or if they agree with our management that we knew what we signed on for and we need to just suck it up and do it.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

I would double check the labor laws in my state and region.

I would consult with my relative to my concerns about safety and number of work hours/24.

I would tell the employer that I am not available for more than 12 hours of work/24.

I would ask my employer what the plan is for backup should I be required by the oncall status to work long and unsafe hours.

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No, I would not work those hours.

YOU are the money maker for these huge corporation providers of kidney dialysis services. They are working YOU to death to boost their bottom line. Not to mention THEY do not give a rat's patooti if it's safe.

15 months or not, start looking, it will take awhile to find something else. I understand not wanting to look like a job hopper, but creative resume writing and interviewing can cover that.

Good luck, keep us posted.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

Thanks for all of your support and understanding. It helps me to have more confidence in dealing with this nonsense. Tomorrow will be another at least fifteen hour day. Today I applied for four hospice jobs, as I am a certified hospice and palliative nurse and love that kind of nursing. In retrospect, I should have never left it. Even making home visits in the middle of the night was 100% better than this!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Westiluv - I'm so sorry you are facing these horrible hours. As you know, I work IN but not FOR one of the top two. I know that in our big system (4 hospitals) we have two acute nurses on call 24/7, one as back up. I think this is working okay.

Maybe if you would like to stay in this position (and I understand if you don't) you could suggest something like this?

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I too work for one of the big two. I really like HD. But the long and unpredictable hrs are insane. And I hate that part of it. Today we were told, for the first time that our unit of 6 staff RN's will have to help a unit that is 2 1/2 to 3 hrs away for 3 days next week. Can they fire us if refused? This job wrecks havoc on home life already. Now we have to work out of town and make our own unit short. Not sure I can do this much longer. I've been there 7 years, others as much as 15.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I would tell a potential employer that I was looking to supplement my current position but was willing to make it full time if possible and turn the current position into a supplemental situation...and leave it at that. Once you are settled comfortably into your new position, throw your deuces in the air if you haven't already. As soon as you make a mistake because of exhaustion, your employer will hang you out to dry on a your-word-against-ours line. I've said it a million times, situations like this is why I always try to keep Plan B simmering on the back burners.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

Nope- I couldn't work those hours. I'd have to seek employnment elswhere. If you are asked why you left your position after "X" mos- I think what you told us is more than enough of an answer to satisfy a prospective employer. Many nurses change jobs 2 or 3 times in the first 5 years of practice. It may make you more valuable to an employer since you have participated in various care settings and have a clearer idea of your career goals and skill set. 15mos is a reasonable time in a job. If you quit your first job after 3 weeks and the next after 8 weeks I'd think you may have something to worry about- not 15mos. Whatever you decide I would contact your states regulatory agency for wage and hours. Many states have rules against working more than 18 hours in a 24hr period or 16 hours in a row. I would also contact your state BON. If they don't have guidelines written for this type of problem, they should, and you may be the push they need to make this happen.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

Good news! I worked 14 1/2 hours again today (no, that's NOT the good news), but while I was at work I got phone calls from two of the hospice companies that I applied to and I have an interview next week with one and will call the other one back tomorrow. There IS light at the end of this very dark, very exhausting tunnel!:)

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